One of my first thoughts when I woke up this morning was thatāout of EVERYONE in the MCUāJames Buchanan Barnes has had the weirdest freaking perspective on the change the world went through in all the movies.
Like he starts out as just a normal human dudeāguy in the 40s joining the war effort, like most other young adult men at the time would have.
Then his scrawny pal gets super tall and buff but he could maybe chalk that up to Steroids or something. He, himself got captured and experimented on, which is awful, but not a thing unheard of at the time.
Then heāsĀ āKIAā and doesnāt know anything. For a bit.
Then almost a century goes by that he probably only remembers like snippets of nightmare after nightmare, dissociated from the experiences but unable to fully reject or accept them. Who is he anymore? What has the world become? Is this Purgatory? Is this Hell? He doesnāt have much time or lucid consciousness to consciously take in the newer world around him.
Then, when he finally breaks free, he has to go on the run and piece it all together on his own. This future world, the new technology, how history remembers him and his friends, all these crazy and colorful superheroes. Aliens, magic, themed villains.
And itās all A Lot but heās doing his best to get by. But after all the hurt heās caused others, and all the craziness of the Civil War being over him, when he doesnāt even have a good sense of identity anymore as it is, itās too much. He needs to have time to process and heal, and deprogram.
Then itās assumed heās been woken periodically for Shuri to help deprogram him and for the Wakandans to kindly take him in and help him readjust. But heās in a totally foreign country, a secret country thatās been hidden forever and that he could never have imagined! Heās in a very different time, place, and mindset now. He looks different, he feels different, heās missing an arm. This isnāt what he signed up for in the 40s. This isnāt how he thought his life would go.
But at least his ridiculous friend is still here with him, despite everything. Just like he said, with him until the end of the line.
And then aliens attack and magic is flying everywhere and the army of a secret society is leading the assault and and and and
thereās a fucking norse god, a humanoid tree, and a talking raccoon
āThereās something attractive about experiencing something so different from the day to day. It makes you believe in something a little bit magical. It brings a certain spark to the world again.ā